Aldamaws

When you wake up and your cattle have a few more legs than usual, don't panic 'cause you might startle the chippers.

— Common phrase spoken by experienced farmers

Whether you're out in the fields or deep in the forests, nightfall brings chittering fangs and short, waddling legs. Aldamaws, more commonly known as Chippers, are small, terrifying, yet docile arthropods that are found all across Kerine. Bearing sandy-toned flesh coated in peach-colored chitin, Aldamaws are able to squeeze themselves into any small space thanks to able spacing between chitin plates in order to retain moisture, avoid predators, and hide from the sun. These creatures reside on the lower levels of the trophic pyramid, acting more as scavengers and opportunists as they use their bright red mandibles as hinges for prying apart food sources such as corpses and decayed wood. As they don't often actively set out to hunt for sources of food, Aldamaws are able to reside in their nests for months at a time without feeding, so long as they're not disturbed.

Life History

Like most other arthropods, Aldamaws have different life stages. Particularly, Aldamaws are hemimetabolous, meaning that they bear no pupal stage, and more or less retain the same body shape throughout their development from larvae to adult. As a larvae these creatures are capable of self-sufficiency shortly after emerging from the egg. The first meal they consume are the remnants of their egg that they emerged from, as well as any of their brood that did not emerge from their eggs and parents that perished before their emergence. From there, the larval Aldamaw goes into torpor until they 'smell' a food source, which then causes them to leave their nests to feed. About 3 weeks after emergence, Aldamaws begin to shift towards a reproductive mindset, leaving their nests to find mates. This often occurs on sources of food throughout Kerine, with large corpses and downed trees acting as a hub for mating Aldamaws. A few days later, the female lays her eggs in clusters in a suitable moist nest hidden from sunlight, guarding the eggs until the adults perish.

Mutualistic Tendencies

Aldamaws get their colloquial term Chippers for their tendency to chitter as they approach sleeping adventurers and livestock in the night, and chip away at scarred and scabby wounds. If an adventuring party had a rough day having their flesh rend into by beasts, or if a pair of goats fight a bit too hard, they might find themselves visited by Aldamaws during the evening. The Aldamaw's senses are able to pick up the scent of scabbing wounds, particularly the dried blood or puss and hone in on the source.

Without harming the host, the mandibles of the Aldamaw secrete a tacky saliva that acts as a superior clotting agent compared to most other creatures, as well as a soothing the pain from the wound. The longer the Aldamaw is able to latch onto the wound, the better it can heal any damage or scar tissue. It isn't uncommon for farmers to wake up to find dozens of Aldamaws latched onto the body of a heifer that fought with a wolf the night prior.

Due to their role in the ecosystem, as well as their tendencies to aid travelers and livestock, most creatures that don't feed on them are amenable towards Aldamaws. Specifically, as the Aldamaw feeds on the scabs and scars of their host, the host returns the favor in the form of defense from would be predators during the duration of the feeding. Furthermore, these hosts tend to reside around areas that either have an abundance of food (in the form of scabby tissue or other decaying material) or bear traits perfect for an Aldamaw nest. Certain entrepreneurs have even begun to try to breed Aldamaws in captivity in hopes of utilizing their mutualistic behavior with humanoids and livestock as a business.